Special Report Transcript Episode 78, Section 4, Time 24:31

The Amnesty Committee has now processed more than 7000 amnesty applications, the majority of which have been rejected. Only 738 amnesties have been granted. One of the most recent judgements is in one of the applications of notorious Eastern Cape security policeman Gideon Niewoudt. He has applied for amnesty for his role in the car bomb that killed three policemen in Motherwell, the murders of the Pebco Three, the Cradock Four, Siphiwo Mtimkulu, Topsy Mdaka and Steven Bantu Biko. The judgements in all these cases are still pending, but the amnesty committee has refused him amnesty for the 1985 assault of UDF activist Mkhuseli Jack. They refused on the grounds that Niewoudt ”…did not make a full disclosure.” In its judgement the panel said that the versions given by the amnesty applicant and the victim differ materially. They rejected Niewoudt’s version that he had simply struck Jack a few times with a sjambok and accepted Jack’s version of a far more vicious assault and torture. They also said they were not convinced of a political objective and added that Niewoudt had ”…not made a favourable impression” on the Committee.